Mutatio
by Detroness
Summary: "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." - Frederick Douglass - An Animal Shapeshifter Reader x Various - Please note that the chapters don't necessarily have to be read in order; I'm constructing this story so that each chapter can be a stand-alone.
1. Comfort

_Mutatio_

_Shape-shifting Reader x Various_

_Attack on Titan_

_Mutatio (c) Detroness: Do not copy, edit, or repost. _

_Attack on Titan (c) Hajiime Isayama_

**¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸**

_¸,ø ¤º° A Whisper in the Shadows of Your Memory °º¤ ø,¸_

_The azure shade of the sky above you was the first thing your eyes saw when they opened for, what felt like, the first time. White whimsical clouds floated passively above in the large blue canvas and the sun shone brightly down on you as you lied there in a cocoon of soft green grass. You blinked once, twice and then sat up and looked around. For miles and miles around there was just rolling plains of grass that continued on until the horizon where the blue canvas touched the green canvas._

You glanced down at yourself but the only noticeable thing on your figure was a small, dull crystal that was the same shade as the clouds above your head and was worn around your neck by a plain leather cord. Maybe once it was clear and beautiful but as far as you could tell it had been molded into its current state from the constant pressure of being handled. The cord itself, like the crystal, was worn but otherwise was in good condition and was tied securely around your neck. Briefly you wondered why you had this odd object around your neck in the first place; it didn't seem to hold any significance other than that it might have been a trinket at one time or another during its lifetime on the leather cord.

However an indescribable feeling pecked at your thoughts like a butterfly fluttering by your ear; it was there but you couldn't hear the words it was whispering in your ear … You broke your gaze away from the crystal trinket and glanced around once more and see tiny figures in the distance but gradually began to seem larger and larger.

You wondered why they're wondering around at a time like this… Maybe they have wandered to this meadow to enjoy the simply beauty it possesses like you were? Or perhaps they've come for another reason? Maybe they came here to get some peace and quiet?

As you pondered their purpose, the figures eventually are close enough to where you can make out their features. They are large, larger than you would have expected to be… Their faces are grossly disfigured and match the proportions of their odd looking bodies as well. One of the smaller ones trends towards you in an ape-like manner and you tilt your head in curiosity at it…

You had only seen these creatures a few times before, and only when it was on your terms. Not once had they approached you so boldly before this… you wondered what will happen and why that titan is so brazen in its actions… It peered down at your small figure and then stalked off through the field followed by the other titans who simply ignored you. You blinked at the lack of a reaction from the giants but you only stared wordlessly as they wandered off into the horizon until they too faded within the blue canvas…

How odd…

That's when you noticed the darkening of the blue canvas above you and the array of orange, red, pink, and a hint of violet. You settled yourself in the field and watch the horizon eventually fade away to the black canvas of night filled with little stars glimmering in the vastness of the unending black. However it seemed that the moon had chosen to show itself that night and shined ever so brightly above you in the field…

That's when a flicker of unbridled emotion sparked in your soul, an undeniable need, but nevertheless unexplainable… For what reason, you had no idea… In fact you still do not… but one thing is sure… It changed your life forever…

_¸,ø ¤º° Do Not Hesitate To Leap °º¤ ø,¸_

_At first you thought that they were the offspring of those creatures you saw in the field, after all they were enclosed within a refuge and protected. Just like any other parent and its offspring… You were stunned to see the creatures consume their offspring, or at the time what you thought were their offspring. At first you tried to rationalize it the meaning behind the titans' decision, after all you had seen animals resort to cannibalism as a sort of mechanism to separate the strong from the weak…_

However after observing the offspring after the initial hunt, you saw some of the offspring defend themselves and others of the brood. You respected those that fought against their parents, but wondered why they defended the weak. It would have been logical to offer the weak as sacrifices thus the strong would live to fight another day and ultimately help the species as a whole.

That's when you also spotted one of the offspring grow to the size of adult and fight against the other titans. At first you assumed that it would have left the refuge and gone off on its own but you were surprised to see it revert back to its preadolescent form.

However you were not surprised by the reaction that that one offspring received by the others, it was an anomaly and it would have likely been shunned after all abnormalities are often rooted out from the gene pool to cultivate the strong.

Then you saw the offspring summon part of its adolescent form to defend itself and two other offspring, who you assumed were, are other members of the brood it was raised in. With your curiosity satisfied you searched somewhere else in the refuge for other offspring to observe.

_¸,ø ¤º° For It Is Only When You Fall °º¤ ø,¸_

_Later you encountered that same offspring in its adolescent body making its way towards the entrance of the refuge with a large boulder being carried on its shoulders. All the while smaller or younger offspring continued to defend it from the other titans who were busy continuing to hunt other offspring…_

Intrigued you continued to observe the actions of the offspring until you witnessed their true goal: sealing the refuge once again. It made sense that they would have wanted to stop the incoming waves of titans but it befuddled you on way that one particular offspring who had the ability to summon an adolescent body didn't wander away from the refuge…

By this time the sun was once again falling into the darkened green canvas and the colored splashes of clouds dotted the blue canvas above you. Reluctantly you removed yourself from your perch and sought out shelter for the night, far away from the unpredictable offspring of the titans.

However when you sought shelter you didn't exactly find what you expected to find…

_¸,ø ¤º° When You Learn Whether You Can Fly °º¤ ø,¸_

_You had made a temporary shelter in a tree overlooking a peaceful pond when the soft footfalls of another creature surprised you, and caused you to lose your grip on your perch. As a result, several vital bones were broken and you were unable to move away from the threat because of your carelessness._

You stole a glance up at the shadow that consumed your figure and immediately went completely still: an offspring? It was tall; well everything seemed tall compared to you… Dark fur adorned the top of the creature's oval shaped head while two green irises stared down at you with a mixture of pity and remorse. The offspring was slender and thin and at first you thought that it was simply malnourished at this point in time, of course that hadn't helped to stop the tiny seed of fear that it would have eventually consume you as a nutrient source…

You figured that the adults were too large and thus you were too small to be an actual creature as a part of their diet but that didn't exclude their offspring…

However the creature simply picked you up and carried you off a little way and then set itself down on a structure that was near the pond. It set you down onto its lap and began to create something odd around your broken bones, which you later had learned is called a splint.

Eventually the creature set you back down beside it on the cold structure and silently gazed at the pond. You blinked, utterly confused, but then decided to look at it once more in an attempt to pry the reasons for its actions.

You both sat like this for a while until it began to sob quietly in its hands. That wasn't the reaction you expected to say the least and you stole a glance at the towering structure that served as the protection against the titans. After all it was common to see the adults appear when their offspring was in distress…

However you were surprised to see no adults appear and looked back at the offspring. With effort you pulled yourself up and slowly made your way to the offspring. Hesitantly you leaned against its leg and remained there for a while, and finally it noticed the sudden lack of distance between the two of you.

A gentle pressure was applied to your back as the creature began to speak to you, "I don't know what to do anymore…"

Wordlessly you stared up at the offspring and tilted your head in a curious manner.

It glanced down at your reaction and continued, "We – we're warriors but… This doesn't, this isn't what I wanted… This isn't what I wanted…"

The offspring's voice trails off and you slowly pull yourself up onto its lap and coo softly at it. Hesitantly you stand on your toes and press the top of your head against the offspring's chin; it seems to want comfort… And this is the only way you know how to bring comfort to another…

Its face contorts and then relaxes as it resumes applying the gentle pressure on your back.

"Thank you."

You lower yourself back on your feet and coo again and look up at the offspring with a tilt of your head.

"You're a very odd bird aren't you?"

You tilt your head slightly as an acknowledgement to the offspring's statement.

"Bertholdt!" Another voice cries out.

'Bertholdt' looked up from you and then gently picked you up in his arms and settled you into your previous perch.

"Thank you again. I know this is probably too much to ask but will you wait for me?" 'Bertholdt' timidly asked you.

Again you nodded, in understanding and settled further into your perch as if to solidify the promise you two had made that night.

'Bertholdt's face changes again and then walks off to the other source of that voice in the darkness beyond the pond.

Even though you were apprehensive at the thought of being defenseless and unable to flee on the wing, you were also curious and anxious to see what your next encounter with 'Bertholdt' would bring…


	2. Lost

_Mutatio_

_Lost_

_Shape-shifting Reader x Various_

_Attack on Titan_

_Mutatio (c) Detroness: Do not copy, edit, or repost. _

_Attack on Titan (c) Hajiime Isayama _

**¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸ ¸,ø ¤º°°º¤ ø,¸**

With a yawn, you slowly open your eyes and blink. You lazily stretch your lithe fur-covered body, front claws gently scratching the floor of your den as you do so. You shake yourself from the effects of sleep and take a quick survey around your den: nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. However your stomach rumbles as the pain of hunger gnaws at you.

Another day of survival lies ahead of you.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but for a fox; that's the only cup of tea that you have to drink in the morning.

Your nose twitches as you sniff the air for any signs of food lingering in the morning air. To you and your stomach's disappointment, nothing; there's just the typical scents that permeate around your den. Your ears twitch as you listen for anything outside your den, specifically anything that poses a threat to you, and then you poke the tip of your nose just outside of the entrance to sniff the air outside.

Assured that there's nothing out of the ordinary, you dart out of your den and slink into the safety of the shadows that the alleyway offers.

The crystal trinket lightly thumps against your furry chest as you quickly hop up the stacks of boxes that litter the alley.

Soon enough you find yourself on top of one of the buildings and you sniff the air in order to find some food. Your ears perk up when you catch the faint scent of human food and you wander around on the rooftop trying to determine where the scent is coming from.

With a wag of your bushy tail, you hop down from the building and trot through the various alleyways, following the scent of food. Your paws skim across the stone of the alleyway floor as you race through the alley, nose to the ground and making sure to avoid collisions with humans and crates.

Finally you reach the end of the alley and come to a tall wooden fence, another sniff indicates that there is food beyond the fence. Now to find a way around it...

You lift your muzzle from the dusty ground and a sneeze escapes you, and with a shake your head you try to get rid of the feeling of dust tickling the inside of your nose. You start walking along side the fence, determined to find a way to the other side.

After what feels like hours, you're almost ready to throw in the towel... Well you would, if you had hands at least, but as luck would have it, you finally find a hole in the fence.

You look around and then crawl underneath the hole, it's not a tight squeeze but it takes you a little bit of dexterity to maneuver yourself through the hole.

The first thing that catches your attention are the various humans that are sparring further out in the dusty field, the second thing that catches your attention is the scent of food. You cast a dubious glance at the humans sparring before following the scent of food, which brings you to another building. Your ears can pick out the sounds of pots clanking together and human voices over the sound of food being prepared. You stomach makes itself known and lets out a grumble as you sneak around the building.

Finally you find an open window where the scent of food is flooding out, and your mouth waters at the prospect of food. Your ears flick back as you remind yourself that the next part is what makes it, or breaks it...

Your ears sit attentively on top of your head, as you try to determine if there are any humans that are possibly near the window. You wait for several seconds but the sounds seem distant. Without further incentive, you crouch near the ground and then nimbly leap onto the window sill. Quickly, you scan your surroundings for both food and for any humans nearby.

Relief floods your veins when you find no humans and instead see a couple of picture perfect apples innocently sitting in a clay bowl.

Carefully, you set your paws along the counter and make your way to the apples. Usually you would try to find some sort of meat, but you can't smell any and you aren't too keen to eat rats as of right now. While your eyes are trained on the counter and the apples, your ears are perked up and ready to pick out any sounds that could mean trouble for you.

You mouth an apple at the very top of the pile and try to roll it from where it's stuck. A few nudges with your snout and it still hasn't moved. Frustrated, you give the apple an especially aggressive nudge and it comes loose. ...But it and the whole bowl of apples crashes to the ground. The clay bowl shatters and adrenaline shoots through your veins at what will likely happen next.

"What was that?"

Without hesitation, you hop down to the floor and snatch the apple into your maw.

Footsteps ring in your ears and you quickly search for a way up back to the window.

Fortunately you find your exit, but unfortunately it's right next to the entrance of the room. Without a second thought, you dash to the boxes that lead to your way out. One hop, two hops, and then three hops and you're up onto the counter again.

"Hey! Thief!"

You don't dare glance behind you, but your ears perk up at the sounds of stomping feet behind you. You dash to the window while clenching the apple in your mouth. Your paws flit on the counter's surface and knock into various objects on the counter as you scramble for freedom.

_**Bam!**_

You're sent sprawling across the counter and the apple flies from your maw as a yip of pain escapes your mouth. Quickly, you put your paws under you and scramble backwards to avoid an incoming pot. Pain throbs at your ribs but you forget it and the precious apple as you nimbly scramble to freedom.

You crash onto the ground beneath the window, and pain sparks in your right paw but you ignore it and continue to sprint away from the building. You hide underneath another building's porch and catch your breath.

Pain throbs at your ribs and in your right paw, and you have nothing to show for it.

More footsteps approach your hiding place and you cringe away from the feet that appear in your vision. The feet pass away and you slowly crawl out from your hiding spot and look around.

There are humans still sparring in the field and your curiosity gets the better of you as you limp over to where the humans are located.

It's better than waiting around hungry at least.

You hide underneath some dried bushes as the humans form a circle around two others; a girl with her blonde hair in a bun and another girl with dark short hair and a red scarf around her neck.

They circled each other and then began to spar against one another landing devastating blows on each other. Soon it comes to the point of where the blonde haired girl pulls at the scarf around the other girl's neck. The dark haired girl manages to dislodge herself and then unwinds the scarf around her neck and backs up to a brown haired boy.

"Eren, hold this."

"Mi-Mikasa?!" Despite the boy's protest, he takes the lovingly folded scarf in his hands.

Mikasa walks back to her opponent and starts to fight again, except this time with more vigor.

The excitement is in the air as the two humans continue their deadly dance and in the fray you notice that Eren gets pushed back towards the edge of the crowd.

"Hey! Watch it horseface!" He snaps and then successfully pushes his way back into the throng of humans.

...And loses his grip on the red fabric.

With a tilt of your head, you glance back at the throng of humans in concern. They seem to be preoccupied, and you test out your injuries.

With a dubious glance, you cautiously make your way to the fabric; pausing every so often to check to see if a human spotted you.

You cock your head to the side as you stare down at the scarf, and cautiously give it a sniff.

Nope. No food, but it is warm to your nose. And soft.

Curiosity wins you over and you bury your nose deeper into the fabric until it covers your eyes.

Probably not the best thing you've ever done, but definitely not the worst...

Before you even realize, someone steps on your tail. A yelp escapes your maw and you blindly race away from the group of humans, frantically shaking your head so that you can see where your going.

Finally you can see and you make an immediate dash to the nearest safe spot, which is back under the porch of the same building.

You paw at the scarf and it slides off your head and onto your front paws. Wrapping your tail around you body, you huff and settle down in the dusty bed.

Maybe a nap won't hurt...

Your eyes begin to flutter shut and your head settles down onto the scarf...

Your eyes snap open and you stare down at the scarf for a moment.

With a flick of your ears, you gently take the scarf between your teeth and drag it onto your furry body.

Better that you get all dusty than having its owner get mad at you.

With a satisfied huff, you relax and drift off into sleep.

Hours pass and by the time you wake up, evening is already here.

Your stomach rumbles and a whine escapes your muzzle.

"Don't worry, Mikasa. We'll find it. I'm sure Eren didn't mean to lose it."

Your ears perk up and you slowly crawl to where you can see more than just feet.

Three humans are wondering around the grounds and you recognize one of them: she was the one who lost her scarf, and now she's looking for it.

You look back at the fabric and then at her.

With a sigh, you gently pluck the fabric off your back and shimmy it onto your muzzle and then look back out at the human girl again.

With one last dubious glance at Eren and the blonde haired boy, you finally decide to make yourself known.

She spots you instantly and her eyes widen slightly as you slowly approach her, making sure to keep low to the ground and checking on the other two every other second.

She kneels on the ground when you're about a foot away from her and slowly reaches out towards your muzzle.

You sit perfectly still as she removes her scarf from your muzzle and you notice that the other two have approached you.

"A fox?" The blonde boy asks.

"Thank you." Mikasa says and pets you on the head.

"Seems pretty tame." Eren states and kneels down beside Mikasa and begins to pet you too.

"Looks like it's injured..." The blonde boy states and he points to your right paw, which you've been holding gingerly off the ground.

"Armin, you aren't suggesting trying to heal its paw, are you?" Eren asks, looking at the blonde boy.

"Eren, we aren't allowed pets." Armin replies.

Your stomach rumbles and Mikasa rises from the ground.

"Come on, let's go eat."

With one last glance, the trio leaves and you crawl back under the porch and try to get some rest.

Hours pass and you wake to the sound of something moving around on the porch, and you sniff the air in curiosity.

Mikasa?

You crawl out from your hiding spot and see Mikasa kneeling down on the ground with something in her hands.

You sniff the object in her hand.

Food?!

At first you want to eat it, but you aren't a fox just because of your bushy tail.

Cautious, you glance back up at her and then back at the loaf of bread.

"Take it, it's yours."

Without further incentive, you quickly eat the loaf of bread and then nuzzle her knee.

After a few seconds, she begins to pet you again.

You like this girl; she's nice... and gives you food.

You pull away and stare at her one last time before bounding away, back to your den for the night telling yourself that this was a one time thing only.

...

To your chagrin, you found yourself saying the same thing every time you came back from your visits with Mikasa.


End file.
